Easy to Make Recipes for Thanksgiving and Christmas

Updated on November 17, 2012

So, you've been invited to Thanksgiving or Christmas where you are required to bring a covered dish. Maybe it's a family event, maybe it's a church event, or maybe it's a party at work. Whatever the occasion, all of these recipes are sure to be a hit.

Are you tired of taking the same old thing? Do you want something simple you can whip up in one bowl and you know everyone is just going to love it?

I have three easy recipes that are always a big hit wherever I go.

If you're up for making a pie, try my recipe for Oatmeal Pie. It has the same taste and texture of pecan pie but without all of the fat from the pecans. If you love all the gooey stuff in pecan pies, you'll love this. I'm not saying it has no fat, because you'll get plenty of that from the 2/3 cup of butter, but you'll still save a lot of fat from the pecans.

KCC's Corn Casserole

This is the simplest corn casserole recipe I've ever seen. It has 5 simple ingredients. I love simple recipes.

I have given this recipe to dozens of people over the years and I am automatically expected to bring it to all family gatherings we have. All my friends that I've given it to have also been designated as the person who must bring the corn casserole.

These are the five ingredients:

1 box of Jiffy Brand Cornbread Mix,

1 can of cream style corn,

1 can of whole kernal corn (drained),

1 stick of margarine/butter,

1 8-oz tub of sour cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Take a stick of butter and put in the baking dish you plan to use.

Put the pan into the warmed oven to melt the butter.

Carefully remove the pan and add the remaining 4 ingredients and stir until blended well.

Put it back into the oven and brown. The time varies according to your oven, but it's usually around 45 minutes. Just keep checking on it as you begin to smell it.

The edges should look dry and browned, while the remainder is a dark golden color.

Serve warm.

This recipe doubles easily and I usually make a double batch to take to a family reunion.

Rose's Pink Fruit Salad

This is a recipe handed down to me from a friend I worked with many years ago named Rose. Everyone loved her "Pink Salad".

Mix the following ingredients in a large bowl and keep chilled until ready to serve.

12 oz tub of Cool Whip

8 oz tub of sour cream

1 small box of orange jello (dry)

16 oz crushed pineapple (do not drain)

1 small can of mandarin oranges (drained)

6 oz maraschino cherries (drained and halved)

small bag of miniture colored marshmallows

1 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Cheese Balls

Mix all of the following ingredients together:

2 teaspoons of chopped pimentos

2 teaspoons of chopped jalapeno pepper

1 bunch of green onions chopped

1/4 teaspoon of mustard

1 tablespoon of mayonaise

1 tablespoon of Worchester sauce

1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt

1 teaspoon of Lowry seasoning

1/2 cup black olives chopped

Form into a ball or log and roll into 1 cup of finely chopped pecans. Chill and serve with crackers.

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It's just sooooooo much better for you. It even looks like pecan pie. You could even get away with calling it pecan pie if you weren't afraid someone might be allergic to oatmeal.

akirchner 7 years ago from Central Oregon

That Oatmeal Pie would be great with my mini-tart dough! Yum - thinking about Thanksgiving sounds good already!

How do you get the link in your text though - I know totally blonde!

KCC Big Country 7 years ago from Central Texas Author

Took me a while to figure that out too, Akirchner. When you've typed your text, go back over the word(s) you want to be the link and highlight them. Once you do that, the option to link will show up in the frame of the textbox capsule. Click on it and it will allow you to either type in the URL of the link or paste the link.

I made two of the oatmeal pies last weekend and my family devoured them.

Squirrelchaser 6 years ago from Leesburg, FL

Cool Whip, canned pineapple, canned mandarin oranges,sour cream, orange jello, marachino cherries, and marshmallows! My god, have you added up the calories, the sugar, the salt, the fat, and then throw in all that artificial stuff!!! All the big tv stations are having health days becaause of obesity in America. Sorry, I think it is time you looked into healthy recipes. You write well.

KCC Big Country 6 years ago from Central Texas Author

LOL....thanks Squirrelchaser...I never promised they were low fat or low calorie....LOL

Cheryl 5 years ago

@ Squirrelchaser: I'm a diabetic and agree that this is very high in sugar and calories. I would hope that you wouldn't eat this every day. Being diabetic, I do allow for a few "naughty" bites. This is a larger sized recipe and hopefully this would be for a church social or a family reunion. I would like to thank KCC for this recipe. It sounds absolutely delicious and will be traveling to our supermarket for the ingredients in a few hours for the ingredients for this and a pasta salad to take to our family reunion tomorrow. Happy summer all!!